Got quite interested in the Quads lately and was also a bit suprised about the widths.. Since I had to repair my ACID74 beneeth the footpad on the most used jumping side, it seems like replacement time. I think I will understand the Quad shape much more when you can explain how it stands compared to Evo and ACID.

I sail an EVO80 '08 and Acid74 '07 on the North Sea in the Netherlands (with 82kg). I love to be powered up (on the foamy inside) and will use 5.7 blade '09 (uptill 30 knt)' on the EVO80. The swith to 5.0 (25+ knt) normally means I get the acid74 out. The Evo80 for me has the nice backfoot turn up and easy pop-back from the top on smaller waves. The Acid has a calmer ride and feels save & fast on the wave faces. Of course you all know this..

Regarding this description can you tell me (when you had the choice), which board would you replace first, Evo80 or Acid74, by a Quad of what size? What board would you remain beside a Quad, in case you lived in Holland, with less then perfect waves (5/6 seconds interval) rolling in? Or would a replacement of both boards to a convertable be better (what size?)??

I know your conditions and actually sailed in Scheveningen once, but it was a long time ago.

First, you have two awesome boards already that you seem to know well and like. As long as they can be patched up, there is no absolute _need_ to replace anything.

But sometimes new stuff is fun and can also inspire to more fun sailing. It is not easy to say which of your boards that you would benefit the most by changing. If the Acid is breaking down, that would of course be a reason to replace that one. But lets forget that and just look at the shape and ride qualities. Then I think the EVO 80 would be the one to change. The E80 is an amazing light wind wave board and I had it myself for many years and had some amazing sessions on it. But even last year after starting to rie the Evil twins I felt the E80 felt a bit dull. I changed my sailing style a bit and went out on ET74 or 70 (the ET70 is an amazing schlogging board despite its small size), sacrificing comfort and "power" for more looseness. But now with the Quads I've been super happy on the 76 and 81. Both are very loose, yet have an amazing amount of drive and grip in the turns. The 76 and 81 are pretty much as wide, but the 81 is a bit longer and will surely handle 5.7 better at your weight.

If you would like to replace the Acid 74, I think the Quad 71 is the natural choice. While the 76 is still a good board for 4.2 been for me at 70 kilos as I wrote above, the Q76 is still far bigger than the Acid 74 and to close to an EVO 80 or Quad 81 to have both (for most people).

The Q71 will offer more grip and acceleration in the turns, better upwind and just super cool feel in the waves. The Acid will still have an edge when it comes to that immaculate sharpness and the feel of the rail cutting through the water, but on the Q71 it is easier to drive the board vertical and you can push it any way you want in a top turn without the board ever giving you surprises. So, as I see it the Q71 is an upgrade. But that said, the Acid 74 is still so very good at what it does and a very "contemporary" board. So in the end it's a question about style between those two.

But with in the big size, I think it's just not a fair match anymore. As good as the EVO 80 is, and it's indeed a classic by now, I just can not think of anybody that likes the E80 that wouldn't be blown away by the Quad 81. There are many similarities on general feel, but the Q81 will plane up easier, go better upwind, be looser and easier to initiate turns on, be easier to nail the top turn at speed and still offer more top turn power at slow speeds, have a wider range of wave riding speeds where it excels generally and so on. And I think that if you get the Q81, you will sail it more that you sail the E80 now since it does not start to feel big as early. So if will offer a lot of sailing for for the money, I reckon.

Personally, I don't think you need to go for the convertible. The only reason would (maybe) be a tiny smidgen of extra (feel of) speed in a straight line. But as soon as you're in waves, particularly the conditions you have, the upwind power of the quad setup will kill the single fin setup easily.

This gives me exactly the understanding of Quad characteristics, you interpret my questions well!! I notice that the quad is slightly more towards the short turning stuff, which leaves a little gap for the Acid on these bigger-down-the-line days. Since these days are seldom overhere, I am still tempted to turn to the Q76 as a single choice board though. The E80 now gives me a slightly too early "wide" feel at around 25knts (with 58,5cm). So getting a cm off with the Q76, might be my choice. Compromise the early planing a bit for more solid fun! And when it indeed would hold 4.2, I might go for single board usage. In my experience one really starts to understnad a board, by riding it in all conditions, which improves ones overall performance (and makes the choice simple!). Also saw some other comments on this site that seem to make the Q76 a slight favourite...

Yes, as far as I (weighting in at 72) can tell 5.6 should be perfectly OK on the 76. For me 5.5 felt FAR from the limit. Rather kind kind of sweet spot. I think this is a board that has a very wide range and even at my weight it is surprisingly easy to handle with a 4.2. The limiting factor for me on this board is wave riding speed. At higher speeds it comes a point when there is too much tail to handle in the top turn. But I would still say this point is further up the speed range on the Q76 than on the EVO 74 and 75.

So, the Q76 could very well also for you be the perfect one board to replace both your current one.